Awaken the Heart by Opening the Mind

Projects

To bring you some warmth this wintertime, Bodhicharya Publications is very happy to announce the publication of a new Heart Wisdom book.

Radiance of the Heartpresents Ringu Tulku’s teachings on Kindness, Compassion and Bodhicitta. Following on from the publication last year of the Lazy Lama booklet Lazy Lama looks at Loving-Kindness, this text develops this core topic further. Drawing on five teaching sources, the text first encourages us with a practical look at how to bring kindness and compassion into our daily lives. Ringu Tulku discusses themes of meditation and the practice of tonglen; and answers a wide range of questions.

The text then looks towards kindness and compassion from a more ultimate perspective: Ultimate Bodhicitta, the heart essence of enlightenment. Embodying such understanding brings an ever purer expression of kindness and compassion, imbued with deepening wisdom. Thus, the text aims to present a wide-ranging, but pithy, contemplation of this subject, central to the hearts and lives of us all.

Copies will be available in February and you can pre-order your copy from Bodhicharya Publications here in the Book Shop.

In ‘Living and Dying in Peace and with Dignity’, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche addresses how best we can prepare ourselves for death and how to support a person and their family through the process of dying as well as afterwards. These three discs have chapter headings.

This website will become a repository for all of the teachings given by Venerable Ringu Tulku Rinpoche that have been recorded since January 1990 when, at the invitation of students and friends, he first began to travel in the West. He has given countless teachings during that time, on all levels and on all kinds of topics, according to whatever is requested and whoever is listening. The range of topics is immense and varied, interesting for newcomers to Dharma as well as long term students. Rinpoche’s command of the English language means the teachings are given and received with incredible ease – as if, he often says, “I’m chatting with friends while on my holidays”. Even repeated requests for the same topic are responded to with a wonderful freshness and delivered as if for the first time. He has said that what we are receiving through these Dharma teachings is very, very rare and there are actually very few places in the world, even in Tibet, that this level of instruction is given.

One evening at Bodhicharya summer camp, Andy Lowe so very kindly invited all of us to watch the film ‘Akong Rinpoche – A Remarkable Life‘.

Akong Rinpoche has left a remarkable legacy of kindness, dedication, helped thousands and thousands of Tibetans and westerners, often under very challenging situations. A doctor, a spiritual friend, a labourer, an innovator of so very many Samye activities and centres in so many countries.

The escape from Tibet was gruelling, without food many times, having to eat the leather they carried.

His journey out of Tibet would have been similar to that of Ringu Tulku Rinpoche’s escape from Tibet, over the Himalayas for nearly two years constantly under threat of gunfire from the Chinese. They had to leave everything behind, possessions, home, friends, families, animals and country.

The incredible life of Akong Rinpoche has brought and still is bringing great inspiration to his students, friends and those who are hearing about his bodhisattva and altruistic life through this heart touching story.

Members of Bodhicharya Kent are going to do the Three Peak Challenge (climbing the biggest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon) over a period of 72 hours. Funds raised will be split between the Charity Rigul Trust and the Community Group, Bodhicharya Kent.

“The Stupa is a monument representing peace, harmony, and love. It symbolises the essence of the five elements and the qualities of the awakened mind with its unlimited compassion and most profound wisdom. It contains numerous texts of buddhist teachings and prayers, and it is built to help maintain world peace. The stupa on the grounds of the Bodhicharya Centre for Peace and Understanding in Berlin promotes outer balance, inner peace, and all encompassing love.”

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche

Evidently Berlin, a world city of cultures and the capital of Germany, is slowly changing into a spiritual place. Many religious traditions are represented here, as well as all Buddhist traditions from Asia. Berlin is a city where many memorials and monuments call to mind the victims of World War I and II and the genocide of the Jewish population in Europe. A traditional Tibetan-Buddhist Stupa will strongly influence the development of Peace and Harmony between people, as well as in the environment. Continue reading →

Since the summer there have been some changes in Rigul Trust. Jude Tarrant resigned as a trustee after serving for over seven years, and Margaret Richardson has officially become the Founder of the Trust. Frank Goh, who was also a founding Trustee, and Brigid Shaughnessy agreed to fill the posts of two trustees for the time being.

Now we are happy to welcome Colin Moore and Sarah Delfont as new Trustees in place of Frank and Brigid. I would like to thank Jude, Frank and Brigid for their great contribution towards Rigul Trust and helping so many people through the Trust.

Margaret will continue to work as the Founder, guiding, assisting and helping the trustees. I thank her for her dedication and all out support for Rigul and many other projects. I have no words to thank David Curtis who continues to serve the Trust as a Trustee and has tirelessly worked for it day and night since the beginning. He was also a founding Trustee.

I am very grateful to all of them and all the people who helped, contributed and continue to contribute to Rigul Trust to help educate and give healthcare to the people in one of the most remote corners of Tibet.

I would like to take this opportunity to give my best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

The second Bodhicharya Winter Retreat will take place at Bodhicharya Berlin from December 3rd 6pm to December 6th 5pm.

This retreat is once again organised as a fundraiser for the building of Bodhicharya Berlin.

Ringu Tulku will teach from the text ‘108 Instructions of Jonang’, a collection of pith instructions from all the lineages that came from India to Tibet. This collection was compiled by Kunga Drolchok (1507-1566) and Jetsun Taranatha (1575-1634).

After many years in formation and development, we are happy to announce that Bodhicharya Publications has this year registered as a Community Interest Company, in the UK. A CIC means we have the aim to benefit the community, and this is not just a Buddhist community, but anyone generally – helping people deal with life better. We publish a number of Rinpoche’s books, including the Lazy Lama series and the Heart Wisdom series and all our books are available via the Book Shop here.

We have three Directors: Mary Heneghan, Paul O’Connor and Rachel Moffitt. If you contact us or order a book direct, you’ll come through to Rachel, who is in charge of all the admin and distribution. Mary oversees the editing and writing and Paul provides all the layout and graphic design of the books.

Many students have been involved along the way: Margaret Ford founded BPs in its infancy and started the Heart Wisdom series, Cait Collins started the Lazy Lama series, Maria Hündorf-Kaiser set up the archive of Rinpoche’s teachings and many students have contributed transcribing, editing and proof reading work. (We’re so pleased Margaret is back working with us again now, too.) All our work is offered voluntarily so that all profits go back into producing further books and donating to charitable projects. Previous donations have included to the Berlin Shrine Room appeal and for the earthquake in Nepal earlier this year.

Finally… we’d particularly like to hear of any non-English language books that have been produced of Rinpoche’s books, so we can create an up to date list for the website.

You can contact us via the Book Shop or publications@bodhicharya.org. Thank you.